


Soulmates

by aegoneryss



Category: Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer, Charlie and Natalia, Jancy - Fandom, Jonathan and Nancy - Fandom, Natarlie, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 17:01:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 13,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21039662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aegoneryss/pseuds/aegoneryss
Summary: This is a fanfiction revolving around the actors Charlie Heaton and Natalia Dyer, exploring their real life relationship mixed with some fiction. WANRING: contains explicit content, and some subjects may be triggering.





	1. Chapter 1

Natalia hated flying, but she hated being away from Charlie more. it'd felt like forever since she had seen him, especially missing him on her birthday despite his incredibly sweet message. the only thing that ruined it was when an old friend of hers had said her ex had posted something too, but she had no interest in unblocking him to find out what it was. it didn't matter when she was with the love of her life. despite how scared it made her, she was excited to fly to London because at least she knew Charlie would be waiting for her when she landed.When she arrived in the beguiling city, she went through her usual airport routine. She's been through there so many times, she got to know the staff by name. Karen said hello, Oscar smiled at her. But there was a certain gentleman she was looking towards, waiting for her. When he saw her, he smiled so broadly. He had both hands in his pockets, staring at Natalia coolly. She wanted nothing more than to rush up to him, and throw her arms around him. She didn't want to be that cliche couple, reunited at the airport. She got her bags and Charlie walked towards her. Natalia's stomach flipped like a flying trapeze. Charlie grabbed her by the arm, pulled her in with her baggage still weighing her down and kissed her softly on the lips. Natalia pulled back, at which point, she freed her back of her luggage like she was stripping her clothes for him at the airport and could not resist being a cliche and she flung her arms around him and deepened their long-anticipated kiss. They stood there for what seemed like days just feeling each other's lips, with no care in the world about onlookers, or people taking pictures. Let them take pictures, let them see what a couple we make. Let them swoon over our love, and want to be us, Natalia thought to herself. Natalia was unaware of who broke the kiss first, she pressed her temple against his, arms locked around his neck.   
"I missed you, Charlie," she said. Charlie lightly pressed his finger against her bottom lip.  
"I love you, Nat," he retorted. Her knees were about to buckle and she was about to fall but the firm grip she had on the man she loved more than life itself held her up. Charlie tucked a strand of hair behind Natalia's ear.  
"Let's go," he said. He picked up all her bags, and held her hand as they exited the airport. Natalia was finally home.


	2. Chapter

She was exhausted, not only because of the long flight but her fear of flying heightened the nerves. But they were scheduled to go, their outfits already prepared and they were scheduled to present an award together. That brought a smile to her face, grateful that she could do things like this with him, and not her insufferable co-star. And Joe, who was nice but certainly not her boyfriend. She suppressed a yawn when they got back, catching Charlie's attention immediately as he set her bags down.  
"We don't have to go tonight." He said, worried for her in the charming accent she swooned over when she first met him. It was crazy how the best 2 years of her life flew by.  
Natalia shook her head. "No, no. I want to." she nodded, putting on a reassuring smile.   
He didn't seem convinced, "You're exhausted, Nat-"  
"It's okay. I want to go," she paused, smiling as she said the next words. "I like going to these things with you," she confessed, somewhat shyly. It was no secret they were glued to each other when they did go to events.  
Charlie smiled. causing her to as well. They'd just decided to stop being a "secret" couple, even though she knew some fans have been onto them. But it felt so freeing, being able to do the things she loved with the person she loved.  
"They're always more fun with you too." He agreed, causing her to crack a smile.   
"Then it's decided." She nodded, moving towards him. "We'll go, walk the carpet, present,  
and maybe skip the after party?" she said cheekily, moving to embrace him with her arms around his neck.  
"People are going to say we're a couple. They're gonna do interviews, ask about Steve."  
Natalia laughed, fully, knowing neither one of them gave a damn about Steve or any fictional character. She found it ridiculous people could let fiction get in the way of the real love she'd found with Charlie. "Let them. At least we'll face it together."  
"Together." he agreed. Whatever response she had was silenced as he kissed her.   
After a few moments, they both reluctantly pulled away, knowing they'd have to get ready soon. He hadn't seen Natalia's dress but knew she'd be gorgeous, like always. She smirked, not moving from his embrace quite yet.   
"Screw being a secret couple." She murmured, killing the laugh on his tongue with another kiss.Charlie worried about Nat as he buttoned up his shirt for tonight. Sometimes he'd look at her and could not believe he had her all to himself. He acquired such a beauty, he surprised himself when he asked her out. And there was no greater shock than when she agreed. Moving to London and getting out of Bridlington. He would never forget his roots, but London was the place he needed to be, with the woman he'd always desired. With the type of romance he had with Natalia, it was only fitting he'd be deeply in love with her in the largest and most spellbinding cities in the world. 

Charlie reached into his drawer and pulled out his cologne; Charlie himself did not feel like attending the NTAs, but they were special guests there, and not attending would have been rude. Charlie planned to present then leave with Natalia and put her to bed immediately; he knew she was holding back the urge to collapse onto their bed. They still had a bit of time, Natalia was still in the shower. She left some of her evening gowns at his place for events in London, considering Charlie was still unable to enter the US. He had his paperwork sorted, it was only a matter of time. Charlie heard the bathroom door creak open, Natalia was wrapped in a towel, her hair soaking wet. His heart hammered loudly in his ears. She gave him a shy smile and he did everything in his power to restrain himself. He wanted to unburden her from her towel dress and kiss every inch of her wet skin. The steam was in waves around her, she emitted heat, and lots of it. Charlie smirked. Natalia approached him and he followed her gaze the entire time. She wrapped her arms around him and breathed him in. 

"Hmmm, you smell so good," Natalia said, snuggling her face into his neck. Charlie bent down and rested his face on her shoulders, breathing her in just the same.  
"As do you," he breathed. Every part of him was screaming at him to unravel that 100% cotton towel off her, but she was obviously too tired. Charlie could feel her heart drumming into his, playing a vigorous tune together with his. He smiled, listening to their hearts drum together as he composed a small piece of music in his mind, being a drummer, it was only natural.   
"You better get ready," Charlie said, reluctantly breaking free of her. He knelt his head down to kiss her. Her lips were soft but wet from the shower.   
"Can't wait to see what you're wearing tonight," he said, smiled and left her to get ready.


	3. Chapter 3

Natalia struggled to keep her eyes open the whole ride there, despite the cup of coffee she sipped while getting ready. The movement of the car mixed with leaning into Charlie, his cologne was such a constant and comforting sense, she felt her eyes getting heavy. As if he could tell, he squeezed her hand worriedly. Natalia only nodded.  
"I'm sure they'll have coffee there." She comforted her boyfriend, who looked about to turn the car around and drive home. He gave her a smile that didn't look fully convinced, but she ran her hand along his arm soothingly. "You know, Im kind of excited."   
"Haven't you had a weekend full of this stuff?" He asked, knowing she'd be carted to parties and award shows for the past few days. Specifically by herself, but she always carried herself well without him. He also knew based on the photos she'd sent, some snaps of her gowns and makeup. And a couple texts when she was bored before the SAG's started.  
Natalia turned to face him more. "I meant, you know, us. Walking together again. I'm used to walking by myself." She shrugged, teasing him lightly.  
Charlie laughed, "You won't have to. Not for much longer." Natalia nodded, knowing the whole situation as if it were her banned from the country.  
"I don't mind." She said softly. "I mean, I do mind walking alone. But I don't mind flying over here, going to British award shows for press. It's cool to be so well traveled."  
Charlie only laughed, "You hate flying though." He deadpanned.  
Natalia faltered, that was true. "I love you though. So it's worth it." She said sincerely, looking into his eyes. He was almost taken aback at how raw and honest she looked, the feeling enough to kiss her in the back of the car that was soon driving them up to millions of cameras. Like the last time they'd been spotted, he felt so much love for her he hadn't cared who was watching.  
Luckily they were a few blocks away still. "You know you can't do that tonight." She teased,  
pulling back a little.  
Charlie only shrugged. "The fans would love  
it." He teased, thinking about kissing her on the carpet. Or hell, in the middle of presenting. He wanted the entire world to know he loved her, but walking together was a start.  
"They'd go ballistic! You saw our instagrams the night you picked me up!" She snot back, looking much more awake now.  
"Yeah, they loved it." Most of them, anyways.  
Natalia only rolled her eyes, them nearing the award show now. "You ready?"  
Charlie nodded, giving her one last look of concern. "You sure you're alright?"  
"Never better." She quipped, kissing his cheek. He laughed, the car stopped now as he got out. Considerately, he helped her out of the car with her stunning dress. He loved all her looks but grinned when she told him casually it was a custom one. Something about being with him made her feel like royalty.   
"Let's go." He grabbed her hand, leading them towards the swarm of fans and cameras waiting for them. Going towards it, together.Charlie stepped out of the car, held his hand out to Natalia, she took it and stood up next to him. In an instant, flashes were going off, the fans were screaming so loud, Charlie could practically see their lungs down their throats. He grabbed Natalia's waist, kept her close to him. He felt appreciated, desired by the sea of people calling for their names. But he stood next to a queen, his queen, surely, they were all looking at her, screaming for her. The photographers were snapping away, people on the red carpet were directing them. Charlie stepped in front of the lens, gave them a few pictures, before stepping away and giving Natalia the spotlight. He gazed at her ardently, her dress flickering against the light, the stars had fallen from the night and cloaked themselves onto his girlfriend. The wind slipped into her hair like a thief in the night and every strand danced in the air; she was royalty on the carpet that night, they both were. Natalia came back to him, he grabbed her waist again and they took pictures together. 

"Wish I could kiss you," Charlie whispered into her ear. Natalia smiled, continuing to pose for the cameras. Charlie licked his lips as he smiled at her, then looking back towards the cameras. He caught Natalia's alluring scent, and almost melted on the carpet. He saw others arrive, not knowing who they were, Charlie knew he and Natalia were the most appreciated celebrities on that carpet. They were not used to the attention, Charlie felt humbled by Great Britain's overwhelming display of enthusiasm. He could not quite believe the sheer delirium expressed by the crowd. Again, Charlie did everything to restrain himself from kissing his beloved out in the open, Natalia was right, the fans would go nuts. Charlie wanted nothing more than to go inside and sit down. Natalia gave a huge display of strength, but he knew she'd be beyond exhausted, how could she not? Thus, Charlie whisked her inside away from the crowd and the cold, wet night.


	4. Chapter 4

"You guys are on in 5." Someone apart of the crew said to them backstage, both of them  
thanking her and nodding. Overall, the show had been fine. Nothing incredibly exciting, these things hardly were when they weren't nominated, but Natalia at least liked gaining a sense of British culture. Even if she didn't know who these people were. Charlie didn't seem to either, she noticed as she turned to him.  
"Ready?" He nodded, wearing an expression that asked the same question of her. "I'm good." She smiled, feeling more awake now, the exhaustion that she felt put on the back burner. "Joe was so nervous when we did this at critic's choice," She commented, not daring to mention the costar neither liked.  
"What about you?" He asked, causing her to shrug.  
"Not really. Same as what we do for a living." Charlie nodded, admiring how she always held herself with grace and confidence. Once she committed to something, she always saw it through. Another thing he loved about her. "You?"  
He shook his head. "Not really. Not with you."  
Natalia brightened, despite what she said. "Like you need me." She teased.  
"I always need you." He reassured, causing her smile to soften. She knew he meant more than just tonight, through everything. 2017 had been a tough year for him but he had her unwavering support through it all. She had stood by his side then and she would tonight as well. She vaguely recalled new year's eve, and how they'd spent it together. It felt right, that they were putting the past behind them. Starting the year together meant they were starting on the right foot.  
"Well, you got me." She responded softly, taking his hand in hers. She squeezed it gently, wanting to say more but knowing it was already risky to have such an intimate moment when they were due on stage in a minute.  
Whatever incredibly sweet response he had was killed by the same worker, coming up to them. "You're on in a minute." She said hurriedly, fixing Natalia's hair quickly as Charlie let go of her hand. Someone else came to make sure he looked perfect too, and within a few seconds, they were speaking to them in rushed tones. "Okay go out in 5, 4..."  
They continued their countdown as Natalia turned back to her boyfriend, taking the arm he was offering out. She linked her elbow as they waited for the cue to start walking. Maybe it was because she was with him, but her nerves melted away as she leaned into him a little. For the briefest second of her life, she wanted to kiss him again but that thought before registered before they were ushered onstage. She walked taller, father away from him, and put on her best presenting face. She also knew the teleprompter would be there, but she struggled to focus on their lines (they were supposed to make a joke, she remembered that. Something about cute banter rang in her head). Her attention was more on walking onstage by her boyfriend's side, and how excited she was to be here with him. Everything always felt better, right, by his side.Charlie and Nat had just finished presenting, they had a little moment up there, speaking over each other and Charlie realised he said Dermot's name wrong, but Dermot got the part where Charlie came from America to be here wrong too. It was much easier with Nat by his side, she relaxed him and as this was home, everything just felt better. Charlie wanted to take Nat home immediately, but they were stuck doing interviews. Some of the questions were alright, others were unbearable, but at least they were better than what they asked in America, Charlie thought. Of course, they would ask about this tedious love triangle, some fools were mad at Natalia for choosing Charlie over Joe, like they were soft in the head or something. People who could not tell the difference between fiction and reality irked Charlie somewhat. This team Jonathan and team Steve nonsense, it was intolerable to hear, Charlie thought. He wished his character got enough appreciation on his own, he loved to play Jonathan, but the writing was not the best. Natalia felt the same about the character she played too, but what else could they do but smile and nod? 

The night was over, Natalia was practically leaning on Charlie the rest of the night.  
"My feet are killing me," Natalia said, taking off her shiny heels. She sighed as she walked the red carpet with her bare feet. Charlie chuckled at her. He picked up her heels and went over to her. Without warning, Charlie lifted her up in his arms as Natalia shrieked.  
"Charlie!" Natalia complained, but Charlie's huge smile made her giggle. "Oh my God, Charlie. You have to put me down, people are staring."  
"Let them look," Charlie said. There were no cameras around, Charlie stole a kiss. Nat wrapped her arms around his neck, her sequin dress was pooling over his arm like ribbons of water and engaged with his kiss on a deeper level. She inserted her tongue, smiling against his lips. Charlie walked with her in his arms, still kissing her, as he reached their car. He set her down on her feet, and caressed her face.

"You were a Queen tonight, and a warrior," Charlie declared. Nat smiled up at him. She ran her fingers through his hair.  
"And you were a King tonight, and a cake pop warrior," Natalia joked.  
"Hey, you ate way more than I did," Charlie said, poking her in the stomach.  
"Whatever you say, Charlie," Natalia said, laughing. Charlie opened the car door for her, and she climbed inside. They sat at the back of the car, Natalia's head resting on his shoulder. She linked her arms with his. She yawned loudly.  
"Take me home," Natalia said, tiringly.  
"With pleasure," he said and he kissed the top of her caramel head.


	5. Chapter 5

Natalia was asleep by the time the car pulled up. Her hair surrounding her face made her look adorable and angelic mixed with how peaceful she looked.   
"Nat," Charlie whispered, nudging her slightly. She mumbled something incoherent, snuggling into Charlie's side more. He sighed, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Natalia, sweetheart, you at least have to get out of the car." He said soothingly, guiding her out with him. She groaned a complaint as she stumbled out, and straight into his arms. In one easy motion, he swept her up, holding her bridal style once again. She laughed sleepily as she leaned her head against his shoulder.   
"I'm wearing a gown," She murmured. "And makeup. And the shoes..."  
"Well take care of it." He reassured her as he walked them in, kicking the door closed behind him. He then placed her on the bed, Nat looking a little more awake but weary. She started trying to take off the dress as Charlie snuck away, returning with a shirt of his to wear as pajamas.  
"Thank you." She yawned as she let the dress pool at her ankles, taking the shirt from him and pulling it over her head. "Your turn," Natalia commented, raising an eyebrow.  
Charlie laughed, moving to put on his sleepwear while Natalia took off the rest of her accessories and makeup with wipes she'd kept here from all the time they spent.  
"What do you want to do tomorrow?" He asked, both of them finally turning into bed after an incredibly long day.  
Natalia shrugged as she got under the covers, "Anything you have in mind?"  
There was one thing he'd thought of, but making sure she was rested was most important. She saw him hesitate, as if she could read his thoughts. "What? Whatever it is, I'm not too tired."   
He laughed, moving to embrace her. "If you wanted to, maybe we could go to a football game tomorrow." He shrugged.  
Natalia looked up at him from his embrace. "Football, huh?" She looked as if she were considering it. "Sounds fun." She decided, smiling up at him.   
"You sure? If you need to rest-"  
"I don't. Just need a goodnight's sleep, that's all." Natalia reassured, her hair brushing his skin as she nodded. "Besides, sounds way better than American football."   
Charlie laughed, "It is."   
"Then it's decided," Nat said with a yawn, not being able to hide how tired she was. "Tomorrow we'll go to the game."  
Charlie yawned too. "Tonight, you rest though."  
She nodded, sitting up once more though. She kissed him slow and lazily, obviously sleepy. "Goodnight Charlie." She said after a few moments, pulling away to smile at him. "I'm glad to be back." She moved her way back into his embrace, Charlie just as eagerly wrapping her up in his arms as he had kissed her back.  
"I'm glad you're back too." He mumbled, letting her head come to rest on him. He thought back briefly to when she wasn't here, and how those nights always felt off. Maybe it was her warmth, or her scent, or just her presence being entangled with him. Whenever she was, it felt more like home.The next day Natalia woke up next to a peacefully, rested Charlie. Natalia checked the time to see it was 11am, she slept for quite a long time. But she felt fully rested, and was ready for her day with Charlie. Natalia did not dare wake him up, she watched him sleep, with his steady breaths. He looked so angelic and beautiful, and his bare body was inviting, she snuggled up next to him and breathed him in. Charlie shifted a little to notify Natalia he was awake, she smiled up at him.

"Morning," Natalia said stroking his face.   
"Morning," Charlie retorted, kissing the top of her head. "What time is it?"   
"Just past 11, we should get up," Natalia said. Charlie moved so he sat up on his bed. Natalia stood up, still in his shirt, and stretched. Charlie smiled at her.   
"What?" Natalia asked, smiling at him. You're beautiful, that's what, Charlie thought in his head.   
"Nothing," Charlie said, with a chuckle.   
"I'm gonna go take a shower," Natalia said, and she walked into their en suite. Charlie got out from the bed and decided to continue to unpack Natalia's luggage that they had not finished the day before. Charlie smiled as he opened her bags to see her lingerie, but he did not know where to put them. He decided to wait for Natalia to see where she wanted to put them. Besides, that was not the time he imagined touching her lingerie. He took out her clothes, and shoved them on hangers next to his own clothes. He carefully took out the folded clothes and placed them as they were in his drawers. As he was doing this, he felt something hard between her clothes and it dropped to the floor. A book. He knelt down to pick it up until he caught a word in the book that caught his eyes. 

"Scott." 

Charlie quickly shut the book and placed it back in her luggage at the very bottom and covered it entirely with her clothes. He realized it was not any old book, the word was written in her handwriting, and it was easy to deduce that the book was her diary. He went cherry red, his ears felt hot. He could not pinpoint his exact emotion in that moment. Was it jealousy? Resentment? Anger? Sadness? Or was he simply paranoid? He decided to believe he was being paranoid, partly because he wanted to believe that. 

At that moment, Natalia was out of the bathroom all showered and fresh; she gazed at Charlie who had not realised he was somewhat frozen on the spot holding her leggings. 

"Hey, Charlie," Natalia said, walking up to him. "What's wrong?" She held onto his arm. Charlie was snapped back to reality.   
"Oh, nothing, just wondering...about things," he looked down what he was holding. "I...uh...thought I'd unpack for you." Natalia smiled and kissed him on the cheek.   
"Thanks," Natalia said, moving towards her luggage. "Why don't you have your shower, I'll carry on from here." Charlie nodded, placed her leggings into his drawer, and walked into the bathroom thinking a nice cold shower would cool his steaming thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Natalia went back to her suitcase, pulling out an outfit for the day while Charlie showered. She couldn't help the feeling that something was off with him. Whatever it was, he'd tell her? Right? They were 2 years in here, she would sure hope so. After she got dressed, she went back to unpacking her suitcase, smiling at the thoughtfulness of him starting for her. She unfolded a dress when the book fell out, her heart pounding at the sight of it. She'd always kept a diary, not always consistently though. If it was, there's no way there'd still be entries that mentioned Scott in it still. But when she had a lot on her mind, good and bad, she'd find herself writing in it until she felt better. Her first entry was getting accepted to college, another about dropping out. One about when she found out about Charlie having a kid, and how she didn't know how to feel about that. One of the longest entries was the night she broke up with Scott. And even longer entry about the time she found out he had the audacity to write an album about her, and how disgusted she was. He was one of her first real relationships and when he became too clingy and needy, and she wanted to focus more on her acting career, she had to break it off. She didn't regret that decision one once, but she remembered how much it hurt to write about it Her heart hammered as she absentmindedly thumbed the pages, stopping at an entry somewhere in the middle. December 2016. It was in scribbled, rushed handwriting but she recognized it instantly, as if she wrote it yesterday. "So, diary, I had a date today. The first one since Scott." she read to herself, noticing her hands shaking slightly. "Well, first real one since Scott. We'd hung out a lot before, with Joe and the kids and stuff, but never really alone. So when Charlie asked if I wanted to go to a park with him tonight, I was kind of stunned. He's attractive, obviously, and British which is even hotter when I can actually understand what he's saying. He's also Nancy's love interest, which means I have no idea what the Duffers have planned. And I've kissed him before, which is kind of weird, but that's Nancy and Jonathan. Not Charlie and I, you know?" Natalia couldn't help but smile as she read the entry, talking about how they went to Piedmont park together, and how he gave her his jacket because they decided to go to a park in December in Atlanta and she was freezing. They'd gotten food afterward, but basically spent the entire night with him. Talking about everything and nothing, it was the most real and genuine connection she'd ever felt. Natalia couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face as she read through the last few lines. "I don't know, it was different. Maybe I don't have the words to express it, after all, I'm the actor. But, it felt real. Like it's supposed to feel, like there's this magic haze and you just met someone that's meant to be in your life. I don't know, I could love him one day.

Really love him, like in a - I met the person I want to spend the rest of my life with - kind of way. It's definitely too soon to be saying stuff like this but likes almost 3 AM and we have an early shoot tomorrow but I'm deliriously happy. And far too excited to see him  
tomorrow. This just feels right." Natalia grinned at the last of the writing, how she was so tired and giddy and love-struck. How Charlie felt the same way and despite every obstacle and everything they went through, here they were. They survived, they were going to. She really had met her soulmate and she couldn't imagine spending the rest of her life with anyone else. God, she was still as in love and deliriously happy as the night she wrote that two years ago. Natalia hadn't even been listening to when the shower shut off, the only sound breaking her trance was the bathroom door opening. She dropped the book quickly, tucking it underneath the same dress she'd pulled it from as Charlie walked out. "Hey?" He greeted, a questioning look on his face. "You didn't finish?" He gestured to the suitcase, untouched with only a few garments left. "Oh," Natalia looked down at the suitcase. "I got distracted," she admitted bashfully and stammering. "Wasn't sure what to wear to the game." she shrugged, Charlie only nodded. It wasn't that she was keeping it from him, she'd always had the diary. It was easily the most private thing she owned, and to be honest she was kind of embarrassed by it too. It didn't matter, not in the scheme of things. They could  
withlast anything. "What you have on is perfect." He said sweetly, grabbing clothes of his own as she grinned. Charlie got dressed as Natalia grabbed a ball cap, of his, styling her hair when he was getting ready. "I'm gonna make us some coffee." She suggested, closing her suitcase as she moved to leave their room. Charlie only nodded, moving to block her exit, half dressed. She smiled up at him questioningly, her question answer when he kissed her cheek sweetly before moving out of her way again. Natalia just laughed, walking to the kitchen, wondering how she got so lucky.


	7. Chapter 7

At the game, Arsenal were playing a good game, they were tied 1-1 with Chelsea; it was via an own goal from Rudiger, while Hazard inevitable scored for Chelsea. Charlie watched ardently. He tried not thinking about Natalia's diary, but the name "Scott" would creep into his mind now and again. Football was a good distraction. Deadline day was coming up and Arsenal were thinking of signing Aubameyang; it was an easy enough distraction. He was getting excited over that prospect, yet still, Natalia's ex would roam in his thoughts. It had to be an old entry, but she wrote about him. He could just imagine the words she used to describe how much she loved him or whatever. Charlie wondered if there was an entry about him in there. It was her personal diary and Charlie would not dare invade her privacy that way. But no matter how many times he would watch Ozil on the ball, he could not help but think about what Natalia had in her diary. Charlie lightly shook his head and turned his attention back to the game. It was coming up to the 60th minute, his team were on the attack, and it looked promising. Charlie rose from his seat, as did the thousands of other fans in the stadium and Xhaka tucks one in to make it 2-1. Charlie roared with his fist in the air, he grabbed Natalia and squeezed her. He sensed she was puzzled by his reaction, he was hoping to knock some of that American football out of her mind and bring her into the real sport that she would call soccer. The delirium went on for a few minutes before the game started back up again. It went on rather slowly from there, and for a whole 30 minutes after the goal, Charlie went back to thinking about the diary Natalia had packed up with her. And Scott, her ex-boyfriend. They never talked about him or even Charlie's ex. He never wanted to talk about her, especially not with Natalia. He only briefly mentioned Archie's mum to Natalia and it was obvious neither Charlie nor Natalia wanted to even think about it. It was Archie that mattered in the end, and Charlie loved him with all his heart. Natalia has met his son before, and they hit it off right away, but his ex was nowhere to be seen and Charlie wanted to keep it that way. 

The match had ended, and Arsenal triumphed 2-1 against Chelsea, what a London derby it was, Charlie thought. As Natalia stood, he stood up with her, not saying much of anything. Charlie smiled. 

"Well, how was it?" Charlie asked.   
"Umm, loud, I guess," Natalia replied. Charlie laughed, he still had much to teach her about England and the many wonders it brings to a yank. His yank. The night was still young and Charlie wanted to take Natalia out to dinner, perhaps to discuss the thing that was most concerning him. He was prepared to let it go because being with her was so easy, so loving, that the name "Scott" would slip out of his mind much easier than before. But he wanted to address it regardless. 

But he wanted to address it regardless. 

"Nat," Charlie said, as he sat down at the table. The waiter handed them the menu.   
"Would you like recommendations?" The waiter asked.  
"No, thank you. We're fine," Charlie said, politely. "Nat, we need to talk about something that's been-"  
"Would you care for some wine, sir?" The waiter interjected annoyingly. Charlie exhaled in exasperation.   
"Okay, fine," Charlie said just so he could get the waiter to leave them alone. The waiter picked up the wine list.   
"You have a great selection, here. Might I recommend-"  
"Yes, fine, we'll take that one," Charlie said.   
"We only serve that one by the bottle, sir," the waiter said.  
"The bottle then," Charlie concluded, handing the waiter back his wine list. The waiter nodded and whisked away. Natalia was smiling at him. She took his hand in hers over the table.   
"What were you saying, Charlie," Natalia said. Charlie observed their entwined hands and placed his other hand on top of hers.   
"Yes, um," Charlie hesitated. "We've been together for two years now and I just wanted to know more about you." Natalia chuckled.  
"You already know everything there is to know," Natalia said, letting go of his hand to adjust the napkin in her lap. Charlie took in a breath slowly.

"What about Scott?" Charlie finally asked.


	8. Chapter 8

Natalia felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. God, when was the last time she even thought about Scott?  
She actually exactly knew when it was, a few months back when she found out he had written an entire album about her. Another entry in her diary, a long one at that, where she expressed how angry and just...weird that was. And how violated she felt. She was basically a kid when they were together and he acted like he was the only person that really knew her, meanwhile she'd been in a year and a half long relationship with the real love of her life at the time and to this day.   
It also felt like she'd been doused in ice cold water now, sitting rigid and looking at Charlie with a mix of confusion and shock. "What about Scott?" She asked, hoping her voice didn't sound too harsh. She didn't want to get defensive but she didn't want to talk about her crazy ex either.  
"We're never talked about him." Charlie said simply, and Natalia fidgeted in her spot. She didn't want to ever talk about him again. Why would she when she had found her actual soulmate?  
"We never talked about your ex either." She replied back, same tone and voice.   
"Yes, but..." Charlie paused, as if trying to figure out how to word what he was thinking.   
As if on cue, the benevolent but incredibly annoying waiter returned. As he poured their wine, Charlie snapped his mouth shutting, killing the thought he was saying. At least his short temper earlier with the waiter made somewhat sense to Natalia now, not that she'd minded. She could tell he had something he wanted to get off of his chest, and that was apparently him worrying about Scott. Without wanting to, she felt a pang in her chest she tried to will away, he had no reason to. What was he even worrying about? Where did this even coming from? Didn't he trust her?  
As soon as the waiter took their orders, awkwardly, and left, Natalia's focus was back on the discussion at hand. She wanted to know exactly what prompted this.  
"What were you saying?" She tried, looking up at him somewhat expectantly. She wasn't mad or anything by any means, but she did want to know where the hell this came from.   
Charlie seemed to falter a little, choosing his words carefully. "Well, when I was helping you unpack I stumbled on-"  
Natalia's mind had already made the connection, seeing her journal underneath her clothes, her face heating up without her wanting to. "Did you read my diary?" She cut him off, very aware it was the line a 15 year old in a dumb teenage movie would yell out, but she couldn't be bothered to care. She didn't think he would ever, but the accusation was out before she could stop herself. She felt like she was 17 again, demanding the same thing from one of her sisters.  
"No! No, of course not Nat! I swear, it fell out." Charlie explained, looking as sincere as someone could.  
Natalia nodded. She believed him, of course. She knew Charlie. The man she fell in love with wouldn't do that to her. She knew he respected her privacy, and clearly trusted her enough not to read the journal. But then why was he so worried about Scott? "I believe you."  
"But, when I saw it I couldn't help but see his name." Charlie said, somewhat solemnly.   
"Scott." She repeated, the name feeling like acid on her tongue. She didn't miss how Charlie tensed when she said his name. "Okay," she nodded, composing herself. "So?" She looked back up at him, appearing softer. He didn't answer, so she continued. "What does this have to do with now, Charlie? I've had that diary since I was in high school, I just write in it when I need to. Yeah, there were entries about Scott. He was important to me once." She shrugged, hoping she was making sense to him. "We've been fine the past 2 years not talking about our terrible exes. Now you want to come clean? Talk about them?" She finally met his eyes again.   
She didn't know how she felt about this, about opening up about Scott and how much it hurt, and how it was made even worse by him still being completely hung up on her. How that hurt turned to anger and resentment for ever dating him when he made the point of writing an album for her and just in general being creepy.   
She contemplated a moment. If she was opening up, so was Charlie. Did she even want to know his history with Akiko? She knew and loved Archie, but knew pretty little about the backstory.   
"Natalia, I just want to-" Before he could finish, they were being interrupted by squeals coming up to them.  
"Oh my god! You guys are Nancy and Jonathan, right?" Two girls timidly asked them. "Can we get a picture?!" The excited fans asked them. The realization that this was maybe not the best place to have an open and honest and emotional discussion between the couple hitting them. Natalia just smiled, her eyes meeting her boyfriends once again. She longed to grab his hand again or something, but she restrained herself. For his sake with the fans. But she knew this, somewhat messy, conversation was far from over.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, Charlie was at his local pub, downing half a pint of lager, without Natalia. He needed some time to think about what she said, as much as he did not want to hear it or even think about it. It was not fair of Charlie to ask her about Scott when he, himself, said nothing about Akiko. He knew it was senseless of him to bring it up, it was in the past. Charlie checked his watch, it was 6pm; he had finished the rest of his lager and he already knew he was all ready to make things up to Natalia. He hated being apart from her, he hated their spats and most of all, he hated being the cause of them. His birthday was soon approaching, she would miss it and he missed hers, but he was never going to let her go back to America when things were as belligerent as they were. 

When he returned back to their apartment, Natalia was nowhere to be seen. Charlie checked the bedroom and there she was, sleeping soundly. He knew how exhausted she was the past couple of days and he knew better than to wake her up. Charlie decided to cook Natalia dinner, he knew she loved chicken, so he was going to make a romantic meal, some wine, candles, and just her. Hopefully, she was done being angry with him and would embrace the dinner he would make for her. He looked through his recipe book, and found something he thought Natalia would like. Mauritian chicken curry, it would only take 50 minutes to cook, that was more than enough time to let Natalia rest. 

Once it was ready, Charlie had set the table and lit the candles. He closed all the curtains and he observed the evening's work. He was pleased with it. Right on cue, Natalia stepped into the room, Charlie smiled at her. But she did not look sleepy, and her hair was not messy. She had her coat on, she picked up her handbag and keys. Charlie frowned. 

"Where are you going?" Charlie asked.   
"Out," Natalia said. Charlie's heart sank. He walked over to her stopping her from going out the door.  
"Wait, hold on. Look," Charlie said, pointing to the dinner table. "I've made us dinner." Natalia glanced at the table, unimpressed. 

"What? Candles and a silent dinner? No thanks," Natalia said, reaching for the door handle. Charlie clasped her hand.   
"No, I was actually gonna talk to you, tell you how sorry I am. I don't want us to fight," Charlie said, taking his hand in hers and pulling her close. Natalia turned her head away.   
"I need a drink," Natalia said. Charlie pulled her away from the door.  
"Okay, then come over here and I'll pour you one," Charlie said, smiling and stilling keeping hold of her.   
"No, I want a beer," Natalia said. Charlie raised his eyebrows.   
"A beer?"   
"A cold one." Charlie laughed.  
"Okay, a beer it is." Luckily there was still some left in the fridge. He pulled one out and handed it to her. He took one out himself and clinked his beer bottle with hers.   
"Cheers," he said. "Bygones?" Natalia took a swig of her drink and didn't say anything. 

"Here, let me take off your coat if you're not going anywhere," Charlie said. Natalia observed him. She set her beer down on the table and removed her coat.   
"We don't want our dinner to get cold," Charlie pointed to the chicken. Natalia sat down, still not saying anything. Charlie sat down opposite her. As they ate their dinner, there were some awkward silences here and there. 

"Okay, I promised this was not gonna be a silent dinner," Charlie said. "So I thought I'd let you know that-"  
"Scott means nothing to me now," Natalia interjected. "I don't even see him anymore, I never think about him, I don't even remember what he looks like." Charlie set his knife and fork down.   
"We don't have to talk about this again," Charlie said. "I shouldn't have brought it up. I trust you completely."  
"I haven't seen Scott in forever, why did it bother you to begin with?" Natalia said.   
"Because I've never felt about anyone the way I feel about you. I love you so much, it's driving me crazy, turning me paranoid."   
"I can relate, Charlie. Have you ever asked me how I feel about Akiko? You still see her, which I get, for Archie and that's fine, but that does not mean it still doesn't bother me, it does."

"Babe, you know, Akiko means nothing to me, literally nothing, she is the mother of my child, and that's that, we discussed this last night, I love you. I just need you to trust me."

"I trust you," Natalia said. "Just not her."


	10. Chapter 10

Hey! Author #2 Jess (@jancytrash) here just to remind you that this is all fiction and assumptions between what happened with Natalia & Charlie & their exes. I figured that was pretty obvious but I felt like I should clarify anyways that we have no idea what happened in their lives & probably never will knowing them. And also to apologize for how long it took me to write this chapter, my bad!!

-

Natalia really hadn't known where she was going when she pointedly said "out" to her boyfriend. Sure, she had her friends but almost all of them in London she shared with Charlie. So she chalked it up to probably going to a bar, drinking alone like her boyfriend had been doing for the day. While she sat on their bed at home earlier, thumbing through her diary and trying not to cry or over think things. She failed miserably, at the overthinking things part mostly, which is what inspired her to snap at him.

She wasn't proud of it, being so cold and sparse to her ever loving and sorry boyfriend. But something else ticked her, something else she hadn't even realized bothered her until she was left alone with her thoughts and journal. She was crisscrossed and contemplating why Scott would even be an issue. It's not like she talked to him. In fact, she hadn't seen him since he dropped her stuff at her dorm but still tried to get her back. She never wanted to after she broke it off. Not when he texted her insistently asking for her to come back, not when he wrote music for her, and certainly not when he was bitter about her moving on. Part of what made it easier was the move to Atlanta that summer. It's not like she saw him at all, ever after she left. She'd gotten texts she ignored while dating Charlie. Hell, Charlie even made a couple posts making fun of him on instagram, but she'd never interacted with him. Not like Charlie, who saw his ex a lot in comparison.

She'd never met Akiko. She didn't have any plans to either, despite how often she was around. She knew it was because of Archie, but it seemed as if Charlie's sisters were with her frequently. But frankly Natalia never meeting the infamous ex was Charlie's doing more than hers. The first time she met Archie was with Charlie, alone, several months after they met and a few after filming wrapped. She couldn't believe how nervous she was, but she never even thought about Akiko then. And hadn't until a few hours ago.

Charlie saw her semi-regularly, he had to considering his son lived with her. The key word he used was always that they were amicable, between all of them. But she couldn't shake the feeling that he never wanted them to meet and couldn't pinpoint why.

She wasn't one to worry or stress out over jealousy, she trusted her boyfriend completely. But she couldn't exactly get over the fact he had the audacity to freak out over Scott when he was seeing his ex more and more often. He had a kid with her and never offered Natalia any consultation. And while it honestly never bothered her before today, now the thought was in her head she couldn't shake it out. Was he projecting about his worry of Scott?

She still felt that, one day, she should give him the whole story about her breakup with her old flame. But that story seemed dull and unexciting compared to what she could only imagine happened with him and Akiko, considering she knew next to nothing.

So it wasn't a hard conclusion to jump to about not being able to trust the woman. If Charlie was keeping her from Natalia, there had to be a reason why.

"I trust you." She said evenly. Weighing if she should say the next part, she paused before deciding it was best to be honest. "Just not her."

The look of confusion on Charlie's face was enough to know he had not been expecting that development. He was struggling to form a response, between opening his mouth a few times before he finally made a coherent thought. "You don't trust Akiko?"

Natalia simply shook her head, standing by her statement. "How can I? You've kept me as far away from her as you could. You worried about Scott, despite never having before, all while I've never said a word about Akiko despite the fact you actually see her regularly." She went on, her tone still even. And although she would insist she wasn't angry at him, just frustrated and somewhat hurt, it sure felt like she was.

"Natalia, I assure you. You have nothing to worry about with Akiko." Charlie reasoned, Natalia taking a swig of her beer as he tried to diffuse the situation.

The watered down version of the story Natalia got was he was young and touring in a band with her, about the same age she was when she was with Scott. But Akiko had gotten pregnant and Archie was two by the time Natalia had known about him. To be fair, he told the story to her in a trailer in Atlanta. It's not like she asked much about it after that day, but she was always curious. She never freaked out when he'd mention Akiko was accompanying Archie to visits at his house or with his sisters. Hell, she was grateful she hadn't had to meet her the same day she met Archie. But she never had and they were going on two years here and she planned for many more.

"But how can I know that Charlie? The most you've ever told me about her is you were in a band together when..." She struggled, both of them knowing she's referring to Archie. "And hardly anything since then."

"Natalia, I don't understand." Charlie responded, trying to understand how to fix this. "What do you want? Do you want to meet Akiko?"

Natalia shook her head, unsure how to answer that question but opting to ignore it for now. "I want you to understand my side of things." Her eyes glanced up, looking him directly in the eyes for the first time all night. "And I want the truth."

Charlie still looked incredibly confused. "The truth about what, Nat?" He reached for her hand across the table, wanting this to be resolved. It was barely a day of fighting, if you could even call it that, but he missed her.

Natalia stiffened, still trying to stand her ground despite missing him just as much. This was important though. "Everything." She shrugged. "Why you were so worried over Scott, why you ignored me all day if you really moved on from all of this." She explained as she sat up straighter, looking over to his hand holding hers. The gesture and warmth was familiar and comforting, but it still couldn't settle her. It couldn't fix this, no matter how much she wished it did. "And the truth about her."


	11. Chapter 11

Charlie was drunk. Beyond it. His conversation with his frustrating girlfriend left him flustered. This whole talk with Akiko and Scott made him want to sink a knife into his past self's throat for even bringing it up. What did Natalia mean, "truth about her?" Had she thought that Charlie was cheating on her with his meetings with Akiko whenever he wanted to see Archie? Charlie laughed at the situation, it reminded him a little of Jonathan, Nancy and Steve. He shook his head at the stupidity. Charlie hardly had the energy to think, he was too intoxicated to form a coherent thought. He did get drunk often, but this was too much. Natalia was giving him unnecessary shit. Why did she care so much about Akiko? Charlie could not judge her when he himself was bothered by Scott. He just wanted to let the whole thing go, make up with the love of his life. Charlie drunkenly walked to the window, and he saw Natalia very distantly. She was making her way home. Charlie smiled. This was good, it's not like she would remain out all night, she was returning back to him. She wanted to make up, he knew it. Charlie set his beer down, and clumsily threw on his coat. He was going to run up to her and kiss her in the air like he always did. The people would stare and they would hate them, for their PDA. But fuck them. Who gave a fuck about what people thought? Charlie sure didn't. Was it his fault that people were still searching for their one true love and hated seeing couples in love? He would laugh at their solitude and show his girlfriend off to the world. 

Charlie knew how much people loved them as a couple anyway. Admittedly, Charlie would stalk fan pages of him and Natalia. People even wrote fanfictions about them, he found one called soulmates, by two writers, Jess and Tia. He would even blush at nataliaupdates on instagram, it made him so happy that most people were not repulsed by the idea of them being together. And this was the very reason why it was ludicrous that they would even argue with each other over shit that went on in the past. They were already forced to separate as Charlie was forced to stay in England. 

Charlie was out of the building and he saw Natalia across the street. She was so beautiful. Natalia still had a scowl on her face when she caught sight of him. Charlie smiled to himself. You can run, but it would be useless, honey. He would chase after her. He was too drunk to care about anything. Natalia must have caught his smile because it made her smile too. She was shaking her head at him but smiling at least. That sight was one he would never forget. With his clouded mind, he began his stride towards her. As he was crossing the road, the timer was counting down from five seconds. He had to quickly get off the road. The traffic light was still red. He had time to meet Natalia in the middle who he saw was running towards him too, her smile wider than ever. But then, she halted and her smile disappeared. Everything froze. A thunderous noise was heard from his left. He turned his head, and his eyes widened in horror. He could only see the headlights of a car speeding towards him. His drunken state did not allow him to move out of the way quickly enough. Before he knew it, he was hit, flew high up into the air and felt the hard ground beneath him as gravity did its job. Somehow time remained still. Charlie was still conscious. He felt something wet and saw that it was his thick, young blood gushing from his wound on his stomach. 

Time only resumed when he heard Natalia screaming his name. He reached out to the sound of her voice, then blacked out.


	12. Chapter 12

For the first time, it hit Natalia there would be some things she couldn't stand with him through. Protect him from. Rumors and cocaine drama seemed bleak in comparison to actual danger. To an actual car barreling towards him.

She saw him from across the street, drunk and fumbly. There was a sway in his step and she struggled not to roll her eyes. It wasn't a secret he enjoyed drinking and partying, but of course he'd gotten drunk. Her shoulders merely sagged, he probably did it because he was angry at her. She didn't know where her frustration had come from, her demanding tone. It all started because of Scott, and she found it ironic that he could still make her life miserable despite not being in it for years. Perhaps if Charlie and her actually talked, not projected their feelings or argued, they would've worked all of this out by now. Not demand explanations for things you have no right to know- she scolded herself bitterly.

Charlie's past was Charlie's past, he had clearly moved on. It wasn't fair of her to drudge it up again with no reasoning besides her own maliciousness towards his ex. Her being bitter and accusatory was no better than him worrying over Scott, and she knew all too well how that felt. How it hurt her.

Now she just wanted it to be over. So she couldn't help the corners of her lips turning up at his drunken smile at her, proving her wasn't mad at her. Sure, it wasn't the first but this time felt like a reconciliation. There was no reason to fight when they loved each other this much. As he made his way towards her, on the other side of the street, she felt the familiar buzz of anticipation and excitement. And the longing feeling to kiss him, to apologize as he had tried to earlier. A pesky voice in the back of her head worried. People would take photos and post them, propel the whole "shipping" thing she wasn't too familiar with, but she knew existed because Charlie did.

Fuck them, she decided as she began to make her way towards him. It was the same feeling that washed over her when she surprised him at his band gig. How he'd picked her up and kissed her like there was no one else that mattered because they didn't. The only thing that mattered was making up with the love of her life.

So she was practically running towards him as well, not exactly being able to match his pace or strides due to her shorter legs. He was already halfway through the road when she noticed a car in her peripheral. She barely had time to formulate there was something wrong, that the car wasn't stopping, that Charlie was in the way, before it was too late.

The next thing she remembered was screaming his name, somehow forcing her legs forward without even thinking about it. Her screaming turned to crying, and she noticed there was blood everywhere. She got to him, forcing herself to her knees and suddenly he was unconscious. God, was he even breathing? She couldn't focus enough to check, to stop crying and to get her hands to stop shaking. She guessed someone within the crowd had called the ambulance by now, as there was quite a commotion behind her. She didn't care as she sobbed, careful not to move him but begging him to wake up.

"Charlie, Charlie-" she hiccuped as she struggled to catch her breath, her mind reeling. "Charlie you have to wake up. You have to be okay, you can't-"

She was cut off by the sound of the sirens finally arriving. Within moments he was being hoisted up, them pulling him from Natalia's arms. Another paramedic had come around to grab her, stopping her from reaching out to him.

"We're going to help him ma'am, calm down. We need to get him to the hospital." Natalia heard a voice in the background, it sounded far away as she tried to process what he was saying.

"Let me come! Please!" She begged, Charlie was already being hooked up to something in the truck.

"Are you family?" Someone else demanded.

Natalia's voice cracked as she spoke, "I'm-I'm his girlfriend! Please!" She begged, already panicking about how she'd even get to the hospital if they didn't let her. It's not like she had a car here and she didn't even know where it is.

"Ma'am, you can ride if you calm down." he ordered, helping her in as Natalia tried to take a shaky breath. She knew she couldn't distract the medics but took the opportunity to grab his hand as she choked back a sob.

Natalia didn't let go of him until she was forced to, as they pulled into the ER dragging him away out of the ambulance. She'd been talking to him the whole way, but this felt more urgent. "Charlie!" She spoke desperately, still unsure if he was conscious but at least he was breathing. She had no idea if he could even hear her as she spoke hurriedly. "I love you. I love you so much, you're going to be okay." She said as much as she could, but before she knew it there was another pair of arms ripping her from him. Another doctor, or nurse or whoever telling her she couldn't go back into the surgery room as she felt herself being pulled from him, once again.

Time stopped again as she stood there, choking back tears. She never felt more afraid in her entire life. Alone in the middle of the emergency room, she tried not to fall apart.

She couldn't stand still, she noticed as the hours passed. She'd been pacing all night, it was only about an hour ago the rest of his family members, the ones who could make it, showed up.

Levi, the sister he was closest to, was the first to get there. She ran to her brothers girlfriend the second she saw her, begging to know what happened. As Natalia tried to explain, she broke down in tears once again.

But that was hours ago. Now she fidgeted in front of Levi, and the rest of Charlie's family, waiting for any possible news. They were all too on edge to calm each other down, Natalia's legs sore from standing on them all night. It was nearly dawn when a doctor came out, looking around the room.

"The family of Mr. Heaton?" He asked, Natalia whipping around and nodding.

"That's us. What happened? Is he okay?" She didn't realize she reached for his sister's arm, a death grip on it, until she squeezed back.

"We have good news and...bad news." He explained carefully. Before she could demand what that meant, he went on. "He is stable, and the surgery went well. We put him under anastasia, but we're worried about particular trauma to his head."

Natalia furrowed her brows, opting to speak since the doctor paused. "What? What's going to happen to him?!"

"Calm down, Mrs. Heaton." The doctor assumed. Any other time a mistake like that would make her grin or blush but now she couldn't be bothered to even correct him as the doctor elaborated. "When he hit the ground, he also hit his head." Natalia winced, remembering that. "We are unsure if he lost consciousness due to pain or a concussion. We fear that it's a concussion, it may...take a while for him to wake up. That is, if he does at all."

Natalia felt her knees go weak, the support of Levi all she had to keep her upright. "He...could not wake up?" She breathed, her legs shaking. Scratch that, her entire body. He was in a coma. He might not ever wake up from it. And it's all my fault, she thought to herself.


	13. Chapter 13

Natalia was searching frantically for her other half, and she saw him, on the other side of the frozen meadow. It was Charlie, riddled with glee at the sight of her. She started running towards him, shivering with chills yet anticipating the moment where he would lift her up into the air and blanket her with kisses. But Charlie's running slowed to a stop, this made Natalia frown and stop herself. From a distance, Natalia could see, he was weeping silently. Natalia's heart was in her throat, as she watched her boyfriend fade away into ash, completely lost in the parade of snowfall around her.

Something prodded her awake, it was Levi. Natalia absorbed her surroundings, and realised she was still in the waiting room at the hospital, she must have been asleep.   
"What is it?" Natalia groaned awake. "Is Charlie-  
"Shhh, he's awake. But still pretty fragile. You can go in and see him, but be gentle." Natalia was fully awake now, she was ready to see him, ready to embrace him and to never let him go. Slowly, she followed Levi to the room they were holding Charlie. Her heart leapt at the sight of him, in his hospital bed, he seemed so small, like a child. Natalia's eyes were welling up. She walked over to his bedside, he watched her as she walked in. Natalia reached out her hand and brushed his hair out of his eyes. Charlie seemed confused by her actions.   
"Charlie," Natalia whispered. "It's me." She continued to stroke his hair. He gazed up at her. As Natalia was leaning down to plant a kiss upon his lips, he backed away. Charlie took a breath as if he was about to speak. Natalia wanted to stop him from speaking, he was still rather fragile. But she knew what he was going to say, and there was nothing more that she wanted to hear. He was going to tell her he loved her and that he was sorry about everything. She was going to say that she didn't care, that she forgave him before smothering him with kisses. So she let him open his mouth and say the words.

"Do I know you?" Charlie said, in barely more than a whisper.


	14. Chapter 14

"Charlie?" Natalia said, heart thumping through her chest. "It's me. Your girlfriend, Natalia?" Charlie stared at her blankly. Natalia's throat began to close as she held back tears. The doctor's said that he might have a concussion, but she was pleading for normality again. When things change like this, her first thought was to bury it, pretend like everything was okay, that nothing happened, nothing changed. But there it was, staring her blankly in the face, the problem that she could never bury beneath the dirt. It was something she could never pretend did not happen for her whole world revolved around the sick man in the hospital bed. Natalia plucked up the courage to speak again.

"You don't recognise me?" Natalia asked, voice still shaking. Charlie scanned her up and down.   
"Akiko?" Natalia's heart dropped, how is he asking for her now? Natalia tried to focus on the positive things, like the fact that he remembered someone that he used to know, which meant that his memory seemed to be in tact. Perhaps with time, he would be able to string together his memories and form them into one again. Natalia could not go on living with Charlie if he could not remember their magical night at Piedmont park. Just as Natalia was about to speak again, Charlie's face changed. A slow smile spread across his face, his familiar toothy grin outshining the situation. Natalia did not have time to be mad at him, at this moment, she felt euphoric. The thought of everything changing from before escaped her, she did not have to worry about losing him, he was not lost. It was like she woke from a bad dream, she had never embraced reality more than this moment. She threw herself over Charlie and kissed him all over. She did not care that he was attached to wires everywhere, she knew that smile meant he was going to be fine. She'd take that over any Doctor's advice.

"I love you," Natalia whispered as tears began to fall. "I love you and will never stop loving you. Don't ever scare me like that, Charlie." Charlie lifted her hand and kissed it, stroking her palm like Jonathan did to Nancy, tracing her scars.   
"Everything's going to be alright, we got shared trauma," Charlie croaked. Natalia let out a laugh which was louder than necessary.   
"You want to start reciting lines right now?" Natalia said, keeping her hand locked in his. "Only you would have the strength to joke about this stuff after a near death experience."  
"Please, the car hardly touched me," Charlie said. Natalia smiled down at him.   
"It knocked you out, that car really hurt you," Natalia said.  
"You've hurt me harder," Charlie said, grinning again. Natalia wanted to banter back, but seeing Charlie after the accident turned her blood to water.   
"I'll never hurt you again, Charlie. I'll never ask about Aki-"  
"No, I meant-"  
"I know what you meant, Charlie. I'm serious, I never want to lose you, ever. It's not worth it," Natalia said, squeezing his hand. She wanted nothing more than to get out of the hospital. It was suffocating her. Even though Charlie was going to be fine, seeing him in a hospital bed made him look so small, the sight of it made her sick. Without another word, she sought out a doctor, she was going to take her boyfriend home.


	15. Chapter 15

Natalia nursed Charlie back to health. It was a harrowing task for Natalia as she had to put her work on hold in order to do this, but she did not mind once. Charlie's mother came to visit several times to help Natalia out but it did not take him long to recover. Soon they were their young and happy selves again. But the incident had taught Natalia to never take Charlie for granted, ever. Whatever his past was must stay in the past. As for Akiko and who she was, it did not matter. 

Charlie was out with his son, while Natalia was at home trying to focus on the script for season 3 of Stranger Things. She was pleased to read that her character was much involved in the narrative this time. The Duffers and Joe came around to check on Charlie, as did Millie and her family. The others were too busy and had sent some gifts over. When the Duffers came over, they had personally handed her and Charlie the script for Stranger Things. Natalia was giddy with joy about seeing her cast members again, she had missed them an enormous amount. But she had to learn her lines first. Natalia smiled as she was reading her lines with Charlie, it was nice to know she'd be spending her work time with him too. Nancy was working at the post with Jonathan, and she was facing the hardship of being a woman trying to be credible in a man's world. Ridiculed and talked-down-to, it angered Natalia to read, but silently praised the Duffers for their work at drawing attention to the issue. She also rather liked the new addition to the team, Robin, an excellent way to introduce the character. Natalia was glad Steve was not alone, that he had someone his age to hang with. Natalia particularly loved the way the Duffers were baiting the audience with a romance between Steve and Robin and by the end of it, Robin came out to Steve as gay. Natalia always had the utmost respect for their writing, and it was given rightly so as she kept on reading. 

Natalia wished Charlie was back because she found it easier to learn her lines when Charlie was rehearsing it with her. As if her wish were granted on the spot, Charlie walked through the door and smiled down at her. Natalia's stomach gave a jolt of joy at the sight of him. 

"Hey," Charlie said, as he set down a bag of groceries down on the kitchen counter. "I brought us-" Natalia had her arms wrapped tight around Charlie's waist. Charlie chuckled.  
"Are you okay, Natalia?" Charlie said, turning to face her in her embrace.   
"Now I am," Natalia said, smiling up at him.   
"You're adorable, you know that?" Charlie said, leaning down to kiss her temple. Natalia smiled and walked over to the groceries.   
"What'd you bring me?" Natalia peered into the bags and pulled out bananas, yogurt, milk, bread and...

"condoms?" Natalia said, holding them in front of Charlie. "You went to the store, loaded your cart with bananas, yogurt, bread, and condoms? What did the person on the checkout think of that?" Natalia started laughing at the thought. 

"They didn't say anything, went through the self-checkout," Charlie said, snatching the box from her. "And we are running low."   
"I feel like you brought some just last week," Natalia said, going back to her script.  
"I did," Charlie said, smirking behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on her shoulder. "What'd you say? Wanna christen the new pack of Durex?" As much as Natalia wanted him at that moment, she picked up his script and stopped his hand (which was sliding down her stomach) by smacking the script with it.   
"We have to learn our lines, Charlie." Charlie reluctantly grabbed the script from her and sat down. "Alright, but after Jonathan and Nancy get on with their day, we're getting on with ours," Charlie said, seductively. Natalia smiled.

"I won't object to that."


	16. Chapter 16

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Natalia said, grabbing her wristwatch from the nightstand and getting out from under the covers. Charlie beside her popped up too.  
"Wh-what's wrong?"  
"It's almost nine," Natalia replied, hurrying out of bed.   
"What?" Charlie flipped his shirt off his clock.  
"We forgot to reset the clocks, the power went out last night, remember?" Natalia walked across their room and grabbed her clothes from the chair.  
"Aw shit," Charlie said, rushing to get his clothes on. He jumped on the bed and pulled his pants on hurriedly, but fell in the process. 

"How was that?" Charlied asked Natalia as they stopped reciting their lines for the new season.   
"I think you should struggle more with your pants before falling, but other than that great. What about me?" Natalia asked.  
"I think you were perfect." Natalia smiled at him.  
"I like getting paid to be us," Natalia said, walking over to Charlie and embracing him. Charlie flinched as Natalia squeezed him a little too hard. "I'm sorry, do they still hurt?" Natalia said, referring to the scars on his rib cage where he collided with the car.   
"A little, only if there's a lot of pressure on it," Charlie said.   
"A part of me died when I saw you get hit by that car," Natalia said, tracing the scars lightly with her fingers.   
"We were stupid to argue," Charlie said.  
"About Akiko of all people," Natalia said.   
"Can you not say her name?" Charlie said, pulling away. Natalia felt a part of herself drift away after he said that. She knew not to ask about his past again, but wondered why he reacted like that when saying her name. Natalia tried to not let it bother her, but it did. Natalia decided to approach her question with a careful tone. 

"Why?" 

Charlie sighed at that. 

"Do I need to give you an answer?" Charlie retorted.  
"Yes," Natalia answered, simply. Charlie turned away from her, but Natalia stood in front of him to face him again.  
"Just tell me, you don't need to hide from me," Natalia said. "Whatever it is, I can handle it." Charlie looked down at his girlfriend.   
"Can you?"  
"Yes," Natalia said, confidently. Charlie pointed to the chair facing the view of London.   
"Sit down," Charlie said, and Natalia obeyed. Charlie grabbed a chair and sat opposite her, not being able to look at her in the eye as he relayed his story. Natalia could already guess some of his narratives but some other parts stunned her to the point of tears. 

"So you see why she's a sensitive subject?" Charlie said, a single tear escaping his eyes. Natalia let out a tiny sob before nodding her head.


	17. Chapter 17

Natalia tried to process what Charlie had told her and she wish she had never asked. She felt better not knowing about it, but she was not going to tell Charlie that. To give him the satisfaction even though she wanted to cuddle him and never let go. Even though, Natalia had guessed the most part of it, it still shocked her to hear the details, she was not expecting him to be that honest about it. Natalia wanted nothing more than to move on from it but she was not sure how to go about it with Charlie. She could not just change the subject after what he had told her. Instead, she moved towards him and sat in his lap.

"I'm here, always. If you need to talk." Natalia said, not really wanting to talk about it.  
"Thank you," Charlie said into her neck. "But I don't really wanna talk about it anymore, can we just move on?" Relieved, Natalia said,   
"Of course, Charlie. Whatever you want." And with that she pulled him to his feet and embraced him. Even though they were going to pretend he did not say anything, Natalia could not shake the information from her mind and was sure it was going to come back and haunt her.   
"Maybe we should just focus on Season 3 of Stranger Things," Natalia suggested, and Charlie nodded his head in agreement.  
"What d'you think of the new season?" Charlie asked her, picking up his script.  
"Love it, we're more involved in the action stuff, can't wait to get started next week. I've learned most of our lines," Natalia said.   
"So have I, or I think I have." Charlie said, going through the script again. Natalia gazed at him, and her heart was cracking like ice. She couldn't help but envision how she must have controlled him, Charlie being too young to understand and then having a child by him. Natalia felt as if she was trapped in the fifty shades of grey novel, Charlie being Christian and she being Ana. The last people she wished to be compared with. Was this the part of the novel where should would capture Charlie's broken soul and save it? Natalia wondered if his little boy was a constant reminder of her abuse. Natalia and Charlie were living three different stories of each other, and right now, she much preferred the fictional journey between Jonathan and Nancy. Natalia would rather take on strange occurrences in 1980's Hawkins, than face reality right there. Part of Natalia was glad that Charlie shared with her, but the other part was mortified. She'd have to push Akiko out of her mind, for the sake of Charlie's sanity and her own. It was clear Charlie hadn't thought about Akiko for a while, and whatever there was between them, it was over and Akiko was a changed woman, otherwise Charlie wouldn't still tolerate seeing her. With that in mind, Natalia felt more at ease, for she was sure nothing of the past could haunt Charlie now that he could tolerate being around her. 

"What?" Charlie asked, noticing Natalia staring at him. Natalia snapped out of her stupour and realised she was stared a little too long. "It's on your mind, isn't it?" Charlie sighed, setting down his script.  
"I was just thinking about one thing. How did you get over it?" Natalia asked.   
"Time," Charlie said. "It heals everything." Charlie rised from his chair and grabbed Natalia'a waist. "And you." Natalia wrapped her arms around Charlie's neck and smiled up at him. 

"Me?" Natalia said, raising her lips to his.   
"Who could have gotten my mind off it if not you? And I don't regret it Natalia, I have my son. And I love him so much, and you. I love you more than anything. You're my family now and I don't want you worrying a lick about me. Falling in love with you on set was the greatest experience of my life and I will never feel that again." Charlie lowered his lips to hers and never let go. Natalia felt the space between her legs pulse and she closed her body close to his. Charlie picked her up, Natalia wrapped her legs around him, Charlie threw her on the kitchen counter and started kissing her neck. Natalia pressed her legs around his waist so they were melded as one. She could feel him stiffen against her sex. It felt so good. Charlie started stripping her and sending kisses all down her body. Natalia grabbed his hair in her hand and moaned continuously in his ear until the thought of Akiko blissfully left her mind without effort.


End file.
